My absolute, most favorite, delicious, amazing restaurant on Earth.
I was very nervous before I took my husband here because I have been talking up this restaurant for years - literally. So I was really hoping they would over deliver, and they absolutely did. This is the kind of place where you really want your server to guide you in your meal. Don't ask for a menu because you don't need one. Don't order wine off the list because the table wine - which is already on your table when you sit down, is delicious and perfect for everything they serve. Yes you will find this in the tourist books, but get over it - locals and visitors a like all go here for the same reason, amazing food.
I saved a couple of pictures from my past visits on my cell phone, which brought us some amazing memories not only for me but the servers who were still working at the restaurant. I fun to hear about where some of the missing guys were - who had babies, went off to school, moved to San Francisco... etc and to also see that many of the same faces were still there.
We told our waiter that we wanted just little tastes of everything, so he started us out with some freshly baked bread, prosciutto and melon of course, a cold barley salad, and another cured well marbled meat which you cannot see in this picture. Adam polished off not only his plate of prosciutto but almost all of mine as well and that was only Round 1.
The second course was three different pasta's: Rabbit Gnocchi, traditional Tuscan style Bolognese, and a spinach and Ricotta Ravioli. My lord we were both in heaven. And we told ourselves we would not finish everything and then all the sudden the plates were licked clean. Oh well, when in Rome. Onto round three.
Our third course was another melange, but this time a melange of meat - Roasted Chicken, Pork Loin and who knows what kind of steak, but it was red meat and it was drizzled with this amazing brown sauce that I could drink with a straw. But it didn't stop there - they then placed on the table fried Zucchini Flowers (love!) and roasted potatoes that when you placed them in your mouth you just melted, literally, like butter. I don't know how they got the potatoes so crispy on the outside and absolutely perfect on the inside with just the right amount of salinity but next time I go back I am volunteering in the kitchen.
Just when you thought you couldn't put another thing in your mouth, all of the plates were removed, new silverware was put in its place, and three different desserts landed on the table. My favorite are their biscotti cookies, which are complimentary and cooked in house.
Now mind you, during this entire process Adam and I have also polished off almost two bottles of the house red wine and now glasses of Moscato and Champagne are being placed in front of us, and repeatedly refilled as they pass in front of the table. There was no way we were going home after this meal, so Adam and I hit the streets of Florence for an impromptu walking tour where I attempted to remember everything I had learned over 8 years ago during my study abroad. I have to admit I did a pretty good job, although my book helped me with some of the dates and random names. read more